Artificial tooth.



A. W. WIMMER.

- ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. s, 1910.

1,070,2 1 9, Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

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ALEXANDER W. WIMMER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Application filed September 6, 1910. Serial No. 580,709.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER lV. l/VIM- Mnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Teeth, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved means for mounting artificial tooth crowns and facings, and has for its object to provide such a means that the crowns or faciugs when in place are securely held mechanically to the base or plate upon which they are mounted so that they cannot be accidentally removed.

In the past it has been common practice to provide a backing plate from which pro jections extend into suitable openings in the tooth crowns or facings adapted to contain cement to secure them to the backing plate.

By my invention I provide individual backing plates for the crowns or facings, and in addition to a projection extending from the individual backing plate into the crown or facing I employ a separate mem her for engaging the crown or facing in such a manner as to positively lock it to the backing plate either with or without the use of cement, so that although it is usually preferable to employ cement to surround the locking members and fill all of the interstices formed around them, the crown or facing is, nevertheless, securely locked to the backing plate even without the use of the cement. Furthermore, the lock ing member is preferably made removable so that if the tooth becomes broken by accident, by cutting it away to uncover the locking member the latter may be readily removed, and the facing may then be removed from the backing plate without removing the backing plate from the patients mouth. The locking means may be employed in any one of a variety of ways, as will be explained below in connection with the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view through a tooth crown showing the backing plate in place and the locking member extending through the backing plate and also through the end of the projection formed upon the backing plate; Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. l, the only difi'lerence being that the locking member does not extend through the projection formed on the backing plate.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown in Fig. l, the tooth crown 1 has formed therein a vertically extending opening or hole 2 intersected by a horizontally disposed opening or hole 3. An individual backing plate 4 is provided for the crown l which has rigidly secured thereto a projection 5 adapted to fit into the opening 2. The projection 5 has formed through its lower end in alinement with the opening 3 a hole 6, through which a locking memher or pin 7 may be inserted through a hole 8 in the backing plate t and through the opening 3 and the hole 6, thus serving when in place to securely lock the projection 5 from withdrawal, and thus to lock the backing plate 4L in proper position. The construction described affords a ready means for temporarilysecuring the crown l to the backing plate 4: for the purposes of fitting so that the crown may be removed from the backing plate to secure the backing plate to the mounting to be made, after which the crown may be secured to the backing plate permanently by placing a small amount of cement in the openings 2 and 3, and, furthermore, this may be done without discomfort to the patient.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2, the locking pin 9 extends through the backing plate 4s and into an opening or hole 11 formed in the crown 1, the opening or hole 11 being at a sutiicient angle to the opening 2 that when the locking pin 9 is in place the backing plate cannot be removed from the crown. This locking action, it is to be observed, is the result of the projection 5 and the pin 9 extending in different direc tions relatively to each other in the'crown 1 Thus my invention is adapted to use generally whether the crowns or facings be molars, bicuspids, or incisors, and while the invention is particularly applicable to bridge work, it is not necessarily limited to this purpose but may be employed, if desired, in other connections in which it is desirable to secure crowns or facings to mounting plates or bases. The locking pins shown and described above may, if desired, be slightly bent in order to retain them in the holes or openings formed therefor in the crowns or facings, and in that modification in which the locking member or pin extends through the projection secured to the tooth backing it is preferal'ile that the pin be pointed to facilitate its entry into proper position. It is to be borne in mind that the backing plates may be made commercially in large quantities so that they are duplicates of each other, or, if necessary, that the workman may, in a special case, construct a backing plate having projections secured to and extending therefrom in any particular manner that may be required. Ftlt'tllOTliiOl'O, the angles that the projections and locking members make with each other and with the backing plates may be varied to meet any conditions found in practice, the essential feature being that the locking member engage the crown or facing in such a manner that it either engages the tooth backing or the projection secured thereto, or both, so that the crown or facing and the hacking plate are rigidly held together mechanically and prevented from displacement relatively to each other in any direction whether cement be employed or not. Any of a large number of crowns or facings thus made may be readily secured to any desired individual backing plate, as a result of which the crown or facing selected may have the proper color and may be of proper conformation to match the other teeth in the mouth, and, further, a new tooth may readily be placed upon a mounting plate, if for any reason. the original tooth is broken, without removing the mounting plate from the mouth of the patient, since all that is necessary is to cut away the original crown or facing until the locking member is disclosed when the latter may be removed and the original crown or facing may then be removed from the projection secured to the mounting plate. This operation is facilitated by the direction in which the projection secured to the backing plate extends, which, as shown, is generally downward or toward the biting surface of the crown or facing.

Thus, by my invention I secure a construc tion which may truly be said to be interchangeable without sacrificing in any degree permanence or rigidity of attachment of the crown or facing to the mounting plate.

iVhile the crowns or facings may be made of any desired material suitable for the purpose, they are generally constructed of porcelain in a manner well known. in the art.

While I have shown my invention in the particular embodiment herein described, I do not, however, limit myself to these constructions, but desire to claim any equivalents that may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In an artificial tooth, the combination of a tooth crown or facing having holes formed in its body portion at an angle to each other, a backing plate having a prong rigidly connected thereto and extending therefrom to enter one of said holes, and a separate pin insertible through the baele ing plate to enter the other of said holes and engage the body portion of the backing plate to lock it to the crown or facing.

2. In an artificial tooth, the combination of a tooth crown or facing having holes formed therein intersecting in the body of the crown or facing, a backing plate having a prong rigidly secured thereto and extend ing therefrom to enter one of said holes, and a separate pin insertible through the backing plate to enter the other of said holes and engage said prong and the body portion of the backing plate to lock the backing plate in position upon the crown or facing.

3. In an artificial tooth, the combination of a tooth crown or facing having holes formed therein intersecting in the body of the crown or facing, a backing plate having a prong rigidly secured thereto and extending therefrom to enter one of said holes and extend beyond the other of said holes, and a separate pin insertible through said backing plate to enter the other of said holes and conformed to simultaneously extend through an opening in said prong and to engage the body portion of said backing plate to lock the latter in position upon the crown or facing.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 31stday of August, A. D., 1910.

ALEXANDER XV. i i l'li liifll llt.

Witnesses ALBERT C. BELL, HARVEY L. Hanson.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G." 

